‘An unprecedented time’: Manitoba First Nations experts weigh in on federal government First Nations travel advisory to U.S.

Indigenous leaders and experts weigh in on new travel advice to the U.S. from the federal government. Joseph Bernacki reports.

University of Manitoba professor Niigaan Sinclair said when it comes to crossing the border First Nations people need to be cautious, now more than ever.

“It’s an unprecedented time and that means that we all have to make decisions around what we can feel comfortable with,” Sinclair said on Friday.

He said First Nations peoples should bring a valid Canadian passport the next time they cross the Canada-U.S. land border.

Sinclair said he worries more American border guards are not familiar with First Nations status cards as a form of ID.

“It’s one of those cases in which they’re just not trained properly,” he said.

“What you’re left with is a lot of incompetency, a lot of ignorance and, it’s probably better just to carry ID that they would understand.”

Sinclair’s remarks follow the federal government’s new travel advice urging First Nations peoples to start carrying a passport upon entry to the United States.

As of Thursday, the government’s website has been updated with new guidelines, according to a new report from The Canadian Press.

A statement from the website reads in part, “Acceptance of all status cards is entirely at the discretion of U.S. Officials.”

Sinclair said First Nations across Canada have been warning of travel to the U.S. since last November.

“I think an egregious circumstance requires an egregious solution and we may have to, for a time period, use Canadian identification instead of our tribal identification.”

Sinclair said it’s vital for Americans to recognize First Nations rights defined under the Jay Treaty of 1794.

The Jay Treaty permits First Nations people born in Canada with at least 50 percent blood quantum to freely cross, work and live in the U.S.

Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said more Indigenous governments need to have this conversation with American counterparts.

“The Anishinaabe and the Dakota, we are nations that really straddle the American, Canadian border,” Daniels said.

“You know, we’re Americans in that respect. It’s important to put history into context into where we are today.”

Daniels said the ways of the past cannot be forgotten moving forward with border relations.

“It needs to be recognized that Indigenous nations have the right to be on both sides of the border.”

In the report from the Canadian Press, the Assembly of First Nations recently warned First Nations people to take caution crossing the border into the U.S. in response to immigration enforcement raids.

In the report, AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has confirmed that at least one First Nations person had a negative encounter recently with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that person has since returned to Canada.